Army SPC Craig Andrade was on his first deployment in February 2005 when an IED blast near Baghdad, Iraq left him with severe injuries including the loss of both legs above the knees and a burst eardrum. While on a dismounted patrol mission with his platoon, an IED hidden in the trunk of a tree was detonated, injuring everyone in SPC Andrade’s squad and killing his friend who was standing next to him. Medics applied tourniquets to both of SPC Andrade’s legs while the rest of the platoon pulled security until the medevac helicopter arrived. SPC Andrade remembers not wanting to close his eyes for fear that he would never see his wife and young son again. Upon arriving at the local hospital in Baghdad he fell unconscious, waking days later in Landstuhl, Germany. Eventually transported to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, SPC Andrade would remain there for 4 months recovering and receiving therapies. He continues to receive treatments as an outpatient at this time.

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